The education received by chiropractors is extremely thorough and demanding. Aspiring doctors of chiropractic receive extensive teachings in the structure and functioning of the human body, the disease processes, and how health is achieved and maintained. There is an emphasis placed on the management of spinal disorders and their role in the overall health and wellness of the individual.
Similar to the requirements of medical schools, prior to entering chiropractic college students must first complete 2-4 years of premed undergraduate studies – depending on the chiropractic college and province one wishes to practice in. During this time there is an emphasis on basic sciences including organic chemistry, general chemistry, physics, biology, and psychology.
Upon successful completion of the undergraduate studies, those students who are accepted to a chiropractic college enter a 4-5 year academic program, which is similar in content to medical school. Course work includes an in-depth study of anatomy, physiology, pathology, neurology, radiology, biomechanics, spinal adjustive techniques, including a variety of other health-related areas.
The primary focus of the chiropractic education is to teach the student how to recognize and effectively treat a wide variety of soft tissue disorders in order to reduce pain and discomfort, allow for effective and proper healing, restore normal body biomechanics and improve overall health. In order to treat such conditions, students are taught a number of different techniques and methods including chiropractic spinal adjustive techniques. Through chiropractic spinal adjustments, the students are taught how they can positively influence the body through the nervous system using specific spinal adjustive techniques. An emphasis is also placed on other aspects of health including diet, exercise, nutrition and wellness. Moreover, students receive thorough training aimed at identifying those conditions which are beyond the chiropractor’s scope of practice and which require outside medical referral.
During the academic 4-5 year program, students must successfully complete a number of national board examinations which are required for licensure. In addition, students must spend several hundred hours of internship in which they treat patients suffering from true health ailments while under professional supervision. Some schools actually begin introducing and training students to the clinical setting in just their second year of studies. This ensures that the graduating doctors of chiropractic will have all the necessary education, skills and clinical experience to provide exceptionally safe and effective chiropractic health care. Many colleges have additionally employed externship programs in which student interns assist field doctors in their private practices prior to graduation.
Upon graduation and the passing of all national board exams, students undergo provincial board examination for the province which they wish to practice in. If successful, the new doctor of chiropractic will receive his or her license for the practice of chiropractic in that province..
Once licensed, most provinces require the doctor of chiropractic to attend annual seminars in order to maintain a high level of competency and keep technical skills sharp and as current as possible. Failure to do so will result in the revocation of the doctor’s license.
Many doctors further their knowledge and skills by completing additional studies after graduation. These one to three year programs provide the information to place the doctors at the top of the health care field in specific areas. Some of the areas of study include orthopedics, neurology, radiology, sports, rehabilitation, nutrition, pediatrics and research.
We look forward to hearing from you
I haven’t woken up with a migraine in a month – that’s the first time ľ’ve been able to say that in the past 59 years. The migraines were for many years hormonal but as I got older they evolved into what I felt had a more physical cause. Over the years I’ve tried chiropractic, acupuncture, massage, Botox, and naturopathic remedies. I’ve been prescribed many ‘preventative’ migraine medications, all to no avail. I’ve been hospitalized with tests showing no causation of the migraines and when, many years later, a neurologist told me he could not help me I gave myself up as a lost cause.
Every time I awoke with a migraine I blamed myself in part – too much time vacuuming perhaps or raking or even sitting for too long. The only resource I had was a migraine medication taken with OTC pain killer/muscle relaxants and often in addition antinausea tablets. My days, sometimes as many as 5-6 times weekly, were spent enduring the migraine until the medications kicked in many hours later or, in the following days, feeling the aftereffects of both the migraine and the medications.
Regular chiropractor adjustments, particularly with Dr. Nik, reduced the severity of the migraines so when he suggested Spinal Decompression along with more frequent chiropractic adjustments I was only too willing to try the treatment even though it was costly. I was not apprehensive but instead interested in starting the process which I found relaxing and not at all painful or uncomfortable and I appreciated the reassurance given that I was in the correct positioning. The 30-minute sessions passed quickly, and I appreciated greatly the wonderful care I received. I expected that if the
treatment was successful for me it would be after perhaps half of the 25 sessions, but 1 started feeling better after only a few appointments and improved incrementally with each session.In the past my life was filled with pain and the ensuing procrastination in many aspects of my life and now to wake each day without a migraine is so astounding that it is taking me a while to adjust mentally. I am no longer surviving my days but living a life I thought was impossible due to the constant migraines. I am now able to sit at my laptop and write regular emails to my family members overseas – a task which would always result in a migraine and was, therefore, constantly postponed. I no longer dread going out for the day knowing it would result in a migraine that night. My adult children are so happy to see the difference in me – seeing me live each day fully with optimism. It would have been so easy to discount the suggestion that there was yet another option in my constant search for migraine relief given the cost and the logistics of multiple appointments, but I am so glad that I took a leap of faith and ended up with a lightness of being in body and spirit which I thought was improbable if not impossible.
MBW
